A comparison of the effect of three common tagging methods on the survival of the galatheid Munida rugosa (Fabricius, 1775)

Three tagging methods – T-bar tags, streamer tags and visual implant elastomer (VIE) – were tested on Munida rugosa and survival was monitored for 8 weeks. The VIE technique appeared not to affect survival (95% survival after 60 d). T-bar tags did not significantly affect short-term survival either, but there was a gradual increase in mortality (52% after 60 d) associated with the presence of black necrotic tissue around the tag wound, suggesting delayed mortality due to infection. Streamer tags as applied in the study are not suitable for this species, since short-term mortality was high (38% survival after 10 d). In conclusion, VIE was found to be the best type of tag to use on M. rugosa, although it is not as visible to the casual observer as the other types, which could be an important consideration if recapture reports from fishers are an important element of a mark-recapture study.